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Ezekiel Appointed as a Watchman and His Responsibility
33 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 2 “Son of man,[c] speak to your people,[d] and you must say to them, ‘A land, if I bring over it a sword and the people of the land take a man, one from their number, and they appoint him for them as a watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land, and he blows on the horn and he warns the people, 4 and anyone who listens[e] hears the sound of the horn and he does not take warning[f] and the sword comes and it takes him, his blood will be on his own head. 5 For he heard the sound of the horn and he did not take warning; his blood will be on him. But if he took warning, he saved his life. 6 And as for the watchman, if he sees the sword coming and he does not blow[g] the horn, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and it takes their lives,[h] he will be taken through his guilt, but his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.’
7 “And you, son of man,[i] I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; if you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me. 8 When I say[j] to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will certainly die,’ and you did not speak[k] to warn the wicked from his way, he, the wicked, will die by his guilt, but his blood I will seek from your hand. 9 But, you, if you warn the wicked from his way, to turn from it, and he does not turn[l] from his way, he will die by his guilt, and you will have saved your life.
10 “And you, son of man,[m] say to the house of Israel, saying,[n] ‘So you said, saying,[o] “Indeed, our transgressions and our sins are on us, and because of them we are rotting, and how can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As I live,’[p] declares[q] the Lord Yahweh, ‘Surely I have no delight[r] in the death of the wicked, except[s] in the wicked returning from his way, and he lives. Turn back! Turn back from your ways, O evil ones, for why should you die, house of Israel?’
12 “So[t] you, son of man,[u] say to your people[v] that the righteousness of the righteous shall not save him in the day of his transgression, and the wickedness of the wicked will not cause him to stumble[w] on the day of his returning from his wickedness; and the righteous will not be able to live by it on the day when he returns to his sin. 13 When I say to the righteous, ‘Certainly he will live,’ and he trusted in[x] his righteousness, and he turns and he does injustice, all of his righteousness[y] will not be remembered, and because of his injustice that he did, because of it he will die. 14 And when I say to the wicked, ‘Certainly you will die,’ but[z] he returns from his sin and he does justice and righteousness— 15 for example, the wicked returns a pledge for a loan, he restores stolen property,[aa] he goes in the statutes of life so as not to do injustice—certainly he will live; he will not die. 16 All of his sins that he committed,[ab] they will not be remembered against[ac] him, and he did justice and righteousness; certainly he will live.
17 “Yet[ad] your people[ae] say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair!’ yet their way is not fair. 18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, then he will die because of it.[af] 19 And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and he does justice and righteousness, because of it[ag] he will certainly live![ah] 20 Yet you said, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair!’ I will judge you, house of Israel, each person according to his ways.”
21 And then[ai] it was in the twelfth[aj] year, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month of our exile, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying,[ak] “The city was destroyed!” 22 And the hand of Yahweh was on me on the evening before[al] the coming of the survivor, and he opened my mouth before the survivor came to me in the morning,[am] and my mouth was opened, and I was no longer[an] dumb.[ao] 23 And the word of Yahweh came[ap] to me, saying,[aq] 24 “Son of man,[ar] the inhabitants of these ruins on the soil of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was one man, and he took possession of the land, and we are many; the land has been given for[as] us as a possession.’ 25 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “You eat blood in your meat, and you raise your eyes to your idols and you pour out blood, and yet you want to take possession of the land?[at] 26 You rely on your sword, you do a detestable thing, and each man defiles[au] the wife of his neighbor, and yet you want to take possession of the land?”’[av]
27 “Thus you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “As I live,[aw] surely[ax] whoever is in the ruins, by the sword they will fall, and whoever is on the surface of the open field, I will give him to the animals[ay] to eat him, and whoever is in the stronghold and in the cave, they will die by the plague. 28 And I will make the land a desolation and a wasteland, and the pride of its strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will be desolate with no one traveling through them.”’[az] 29 And they will know that I am Yahweh when I make my land a desolation and a wasteland, because of all of their detestable things that they have done.
30 “And you, son of man,[ba] your people,[bb] the ones talking together concerning you beside the walls and in the doorways of the houses, each one with his brother saying,[bc] ‘Please come and hear what is the word that is going out from Yahweh.’[bd] 31 And they come to you as people do,[be] and they sit before you,[bf] and my people hear your words, and they do not do them, for they are showing[bg] passion in their mouth, but their heart is going after ill-gotten gain. 32 Now, look! You are to them like a sensual song,[bh] beautiful of voice and played well on an instrument,[bi] and they hear your words, but they are not doing them.[bj] 33 So[bk] when it comes,[bl] look! It is coming! And then they will know that a prophet was in the midst of them.”
Prophecy Concerning Israel’s Shepherds and Sheep
34 And the word of Yahweh came[bm] to me, saying, 2 “Son of man,[bn] prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and you must say to them, to the shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves! Must not the shepherds feed the flock? 3 The fat you eat, and you clothe yourself with the wool; the well-nourished animals you slaughter, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, and the sick you have not healed, and with respect to[bo] the hurt[bp] you have not bound them up, and you have not brought back the scattered, and you have not sought the lost, but rather you ruled over them with force[bq] and with ruthlessness. 5 And they were scattered without[br] a shepherd, and they were[bs] as food for all the animals[bt] of the field when they were scattered. 6 My flock went astray upon all of the mountains and on every high hill, and so upon all the surface of the world[bu] my flock were scattered, and there was no one seeking them,[bv] and there was no one searching for them.”[bw] 7 Therefore, hear, O shepherds, the word of Yahweh: 8 “As I live,”[bx] declares[by] the Lord Yahweh, “Surely[bz] because my flock have become as plunder, and my flock became as food to[ca] all the animals[cb] of the field, since there was not a shepherd, since my shepherds have not sought my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and they fed not my flock,’” 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh, 10 ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am against the shepherds, and I will seek my flock from their hand, and I will put an end to them from shepherding flocks, and the shepherds will no longer[cc] feed themselves, and I will deliver my flocks from their mouth, so that they will not be as food for them.”
11 “‘For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I, even I, will seek my flock, and I will look after them, 12 just like the caring of a shepherd for his herd on[cd] the day when he is in the midst of his scattered flock. Thus I will look after my flock, and I will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered[ce] on the day of storm and stress.[cf] 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and I will gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their soil, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all of the settlements of the land. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their pasture will be on the mountains of the heights of Israel; there they will lie down in good pasture, and on lush pasture they will feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself[cg] will feed my flock and I myself[ch] will allow them to lie down,” declares[ci] the Lord Yahweh. 16 “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the scattered, and I will bind up the one hurt, and I will strengthen the sick; and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed her with justice.”
17 “‘And you, my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am judging between one sheep and another,[cj] between the rams and between the he-goats. 18 Is it not enough for you[ck] that you feed on the good pasture? And still you must trample the remainder of your pasture with your feet, and clear water[cl] you drink, and the leftover water[cm] you must make muddy with your feet. 19 And my flock must graze the pasture treaded upon by[cn] your feet, and must drink the mud puddle stirred up by[co] your feet.”
20 “‘Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: “Look! I, even I will judge between fat sheep and between lean sheep, 21 because with your flank and with your shoulder you shoved, and with your horns you pushed all of the sick animals until[cp] you scattered it[cq] to the outside. 22 And so I will save my flock, and they will no longer be[cr] for plunder, and I will judge between one sheep and another.[cs] 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, and he will feed them; that is, my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be for them as[ct] a shepherd. 24 And I, Yahweh, I will be for them as God,[cu] and my servant David will be a leader in the midst of them. I, Yahweh, I have spoken. 25 And I will make them a covenant of peace, and I will put an end to wild animals[cv] from the land, and they will dwell in the desert safely,[cw] and they will sleep in the forest. 26 And I will make them and the area all around my hill a blessing, and I will let the rain go down at its appointed time;[cx] they will be rains of blessing. 27 And the tree[cy] of the field will give its fruit, and the land will give its produce, and they will be on their land safely,[cz] and they will know that I am Yahweh when I break their yoke, and I will deliver them from the hand of the ones enslaving them. 28 And they will not be any longer plunder to the nations, and the animals of the land will not eat them, and they will dwell in safety,[da] and there will not be anyone frightening them. 29 And I will raise for them a garden plot[db] of renown, and they will no longer[dc] be victims of famine in the land, and they will not bear any more the insult of the nations. 30 And they will know that I, Yahweh their God, am with them and they are my people, the house of Israel,” declares[dd] the Lord Yahweh, 31 “and you are my flock, the flock of my pasture. You are my people;[de] I am your God,” declares[df] the Lord Yahweh.’”
Concluding Ethical Instructions
13 Brotherly love must continue. 2 Do not neglect hospitality, because through this some have received angels as guests without knowing it. 3 Remember the prisoners, as though you were fellow-prisoners; remember[a] the mistreated, as though you yourselves also are being mistreated[b] in the body. 4 Marriage must be held in honor by all, and the marriage bed be undefiled, because God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers. 5 Your lifestyle must be free from the love of money, being content with what you have. For he himself has said, “I will never desert you, and I will never abandon you.”[c] 6 So then, we can say with confidence,
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you; considering the outcome of their way of life[f], imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever[g]. 9 Do not be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods by which those who participate have not benefited. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle do not have the right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sins are burned up outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, in order that he might sanctify the people by his own blood. 13 So we must go out to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here we do not have a permanent city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Therefore through him let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually[h] to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not neglect doing good and generosity, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with groaning, for this would be unprofitable for you.
18 Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a good conscience, and want to conduct ourselves commendably in every way. 19 And I especially urge you to do this, so that I may be restored to you more quickly.
Benediction
20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with every good thing to do his will, carrying out in us what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever[i].[j] Amen.
Conclusion
22 Now I urge you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for indeed I have written to you briefly[k]. 23 Know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I will see you, if he comes quickly enough. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you. 25 Grace be with all of you.
Dead Idols and the Living God
115 Not to us, O Yahweh, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
because of your loyal love,
because of your faithfulness.
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where, pray tell,[a] is their God?”
3 But our God is in the heavens;
all that he desires, he does.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see;
6 they have ears, but cannot hear;
they have noses, but cannot smell;
7 they have their hands, but they cannot feel,
their feet, but they cannot walk;
they cannot utter a sound in their throats.
8 Those who make them become like them,
as does everyone who trusts in them.
9 O Israel, trust Yahweh;
he is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in Yahweh;
he is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear Yahweh, trust in Yahweh;
he is their help and their shield.
12 Yahweh remembers us; he will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear Yahweh,
the small with the great.
14 May Yahweh give you increase,
you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by Yahweh,
who made heaven and earth.
16 The heavens are Yahweh’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of humankind.
17 The dead do not praise Yah,[b]
nor any descending into silence.
18 It is we, we will bless Yah[c]
from now until forever.
Praise Yah![d]
21 A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace for the gold,
but a man is tested by the mouth of him who praises him.
22 If you crush a fool in the mortar with the pestle along with[a] the crushed grain,
it will not drive folly from upon him.
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